The Two Commanders
by Royal Blue Alchemist
Summary: Marvin, Commander X-2 /OC.  Duck Dodgers series.  Commander Aria's planet is being torn to pieces, and Commander X-2 has been sent to her aid, but has he arrived too late to save the planet?
1. Chapter 1

Ch.1: The Fall of Mercury

Explosions of red, yellow, green, and blue rained down on the blood stained soil of the pale planet; some detonated while still in mid-air, letting the shards of fire pierce through Mercurie's warriors like blades. The ones that made it to the ground seemed less dangerous, but that was only because the explosion gulped up the warriors, and left no more of them. The sky was covered with rolling, black clouds, and lighting flashed through the carol sky; upon closer inspection, one could see that it was smoke and the enemies' attacks that gave light to the darkness. It was dark indeed, despite the fact that it was daytime; the sun, which is so immensely close, could not penetrate the artificial night. Aria, the commander of the Mercurian's military, stood strong against all the chaos, shouting out orders and directing the wounded the their crumbling medical centers. A frown tugged at her invisible lips, on her ebony skin; their resemblance to the Martians was uncanny, they would often be mistaken for their brothers and sisters. A sense of brother-ship does exist among the two races; a plea for assistance had been sent to the Martians earlier that week. All sense of time had faded away, though, every minute felt like hours. Nevertheless, the Martians did respond, stating that they would come to their aid. The only problem; it takes a considerable amount of time to reach Mercury from Mars; she had no idea how much time had passed since their response. Communication had slipped beyond their grasp some time ago, their transmissions simply could not reach them. Regardless, they only had to hold out a bit longer, but it was a push. She glanced around her, seeing all of her jaded and beat comrades; their cloths torn and tattered, stained with blood. Then she gave herself a fleeting glance, and saw that she appeared no better. Her lilac tank-top and the pants that matched were torn in varies places and stained red. Her gloves of the same color, which originally trailed up to her shoulders, were now much shorter, being torn away by the countless explosions. The darker purple bracelets that used to hug each wrist had shattered, nothing of them remained. The combat boots of the same dark purple were scuffed and dirty, the golden-yellow belt that held her Death Ray Gun was barely clinging to her hips. Her weapon was not cradled between the two, however, it was held tightly in her hand, ready to fire off the few remaining shots it held. Her simple helmet, with different shades of purple, wore gapping gashes, some large enough to produce wholes, which let her ebony hair fall out in tiny strands. Appearances hardly mattered to her now, though, a full scale war had erupted on her small planet.

She sent daggers at the black sky, with her eyes of deep violet. The enemy, the one that was defeating them, were supposed to be nothing more than cowards. She drew herself away from the battlefield for a moment, allowing herself to remember how this all happened. For many centuries, the Mercurians have maintained an alliance with the Martians; they would often scout out planets together, extracting its citizens and then taking complete control of it. Even though the conquered planets were always in the name of the Martians, they shared the territory equally. This current situation had started out as nothing more than a routine mission, on a far off planet, that would bring desirable possibilities to both races. Everything had gone by smoothly (for them anyway) the beings of the planet did not put forth any resistance, and quietly departed, rather than being killed. This was many years ago, and Aria had not yet become commander, but she was still present. They all seemed so harmless, and it appeared as if noone there had gone through any formal military training. Nevertheless, here they are now, years latter, delivering a bombardment, however their skills did leave something to be desired. They were simply casting down bombs, but earlier, they attempted a land based attack, which failed. The result of her nearly empty gun came from that attack, disposing of them had been simple. They did exhibit a little intelligence over their lack of strength and skill, however; they figured out when the Mercurians space crafts would be under maintenance, and chose that day to strike. She had pushed everyone to ready the ships, but their carriers were the first to be fired upon, not a single ship remained.

The deafening explosions did not bring her back from her thoughts, it was the voice of a comrade, "Commander!"

She turned on her heals to face the larger Mercurian, "If you have bad news, go away."

The long term soldier did not hesitate at her sarcastic remark, "We have not been able to establish communication with the Martians, Commander Aria."

Her fingers tapped thoughtfully on her gun, "Keep trying, have someone stationed at the communication desk at all time," she cast her gaze back up to the sky and pointed, "There, a moment ago, there was a break in the smoke, I could see part of the ship," she gave him a sideways glance, "aim for that, shoot it down," her voice had suddenly become sharp and dangerous.

He replied with a 'yes commander,' saluted, and went off. She stood there for only a moment longer before a missel zoomed through the smoggy air and vanished into the smoke. It was soon followed by a flash of light, that sparked dimly in the blackness, then an audible boom. Everyone ceased what they were doing momentarily to watch as the tail end of the enemy ship slashed through the black smoke, coming down in a hail of fire. It sent hot embers of metal down to the ground, some had to leap out of the way to avoid being hit. As the huge vessel came closer to the ground, its people made the mistake of jumping out of it, if the fall hadn't killed them, they were immediately captured. Realizing the loss of its sister ship, another came into view, emerging out of the torrent of smoke.

While it came, a soldier had approached her and whispered to her, her eyes lit up, "Excellent...this fight is about to end," the spaceship overhead opened fire, "and do tell me why that ship is still intact!"

The soldier caught the command and ran off toward the firing platforms without giving a responce. She broke out into a run, dodging the explosions as she went. She cursed at the damage they caused, the surface of Mercury felt the bombs full effects, since the planet has a lack off atmosphere, therefor having no means of slowing foreign projectiles. Even if the battle stopped right now, she knew the planet would still have irreversible damage.

xXx Marvin xXx

Commander X-2 sat in the bridge, tapping his fingers impatiently against the arm of his chair, "How much longer until our destination is reached?"

The nearest centurion spoke, "Five hours, thirty-eight minutes, and twenty seconds, sir."

"Can we not go faster, we have been delayed too much already, we must go faster if we are to reach Mercury in time!"

The centurion turned to the wall of computers behind it, "Increasing speed, sir," it was silent for a moment, "Estimated time of arrival now three hours, seven minutes and thirty seconds."

He leaned back in his chair, but continued to tap. Before their departure a group of Martians decided that they did not want to assist the Mercurians, they were keen on the idea of taking hold of the planet once they were gone. So he, as well as the majority, had wasted time debating about whether or not to go. Many others wanted to provide assistance, but few, very powerful political figures, did not wish to. The queen was indifferent, letting the problem work itself out; he couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at that, if she gave the order to go, noone would question it. He felt a sense of bother-ship with the Mercurians; they had fought side by side for so long. He liked to think that the Mercurian Commander would feel the same way, if the roles were reversed. He had only met her a view times, none of them formally, on the battlefield, and it was time to meet her again. After much silence and anticipation, they finally reached Mercury. Five battle ships were in orbit around the planet, all sending down clusters of explosives. He gave order to open fire. The ships seemed to have not even noticed their arrival, they were completely caught off guard. He let out one of his small, trademark laughs, things were so much easier when the enemy was incompetent. After some time, all the ships were gone, clearing the way to the planet.

The Martian commander wasted no time, "Take us down, prepare to take the injured onboard! Use full force against any resistance!"

An echo of, 'yes, sir' rang through the bridge as his ship began its descent. Before even landing down, he stood and left the bridge, wanting to get on the battlefield as soon as possible. He passed many centurions on his way to the loading docks, which paused and saluted him, but he paid them no mind. When he arrived, the huge metallic door was in the process of opening, giving a small window of sight of the battlefield just ahead. As soon as it touch down, he rushed out, with a hoard of centurions behind him. He peered off into one of the craters, glad to see the towers that gave the centurions their energy still stood.

He spotted someone that appeared to have a high position and signaled him over, "We have taken care of the airships that were still in orbit around the planet, are there still troops on the land?"

He answered in a quick stammer, "I think there is one other ship floating around in the smoke, we haven't seen any land troops. We do have prisoners, though, but they've been attempting to terminate themselves. They aren't talking, they, as well as our own men, are fading quickly."

"The centurions are taking care of your injured, they shall deal with your captives as well," he gave a quick glance to his surroundings, "where is Commander Aria?"

His dark eyes became anxious, "...Aria- Commander Aria was informed that a aircraft had been found in the kings bunker. She disappeared soon after, I believe she intends to take down the ship that broke through the smoke. We have not seen her or the ship for... it seems like an hour."

Marvin's eyes shifted in confusion, "Do you not have a form of communication with her?"

"We did, but her end must have been damaged."

"That's not good, not good at all," he mumbled to himself, too low for the other to properly hear.

"Sir?" He gave him a curious look.

Marvin cleared his throat, "Nothing, I'll send out a team to..."The Mercurian's eyes were staring at something that must be behind himself, so he turned to see what was so interesting. At first he thought it was a meteor, but he could see the blackening metal beneath all the flames, "Is that the other airship you spoke of?"

He turned back to the wide-eyed Mercurian, "Y-yes... Commander Aria would have been the only one that could get onboard...the only one with a aircraft..."

He raised an invisible eyebrow, "It seems as if you have little faith in your commander."

His expression became startled, "Well I...I haven't been under her regiment for... I haven't been on missions with her, I've only heard the stories..."

Marvin cut off his frantic explanation, "Alright, alright, do calm down." He started to doubt that this one held a high position.

He looked back to the falling vessel, and saw something burst through the side of the ship, it continued to zip around it, the smoke parting behind it. It soon broke away from its zigzag pattern and made a nosedive to the ground. It vanished from view, disappearing into a crater. He, the centurions and the Mercurians made their way to the crater, Marvin was the first to arrive, and the first to see a dark form stumble out of the smoke.

Before he had a chance to recognize to person, the Mercurian from earlier called out, "Commander Aria!"

Marvin watched as the commander fell to the ground, uttering out a gasping laugh as she did so.

xXx Aria xXx

A bright light compelled her eyes to open, at first she was relieved, thinking that the sun had finally broken through the dense layer of smoke, but as her sight adjusted to the new illumination she discovered it was artificial. With a groan, she pushed herself up with her elbows, and inspected her surroundings more intently. She knew instantly that this was no Mercurian sickbay, while the lights were bright, the walls and floors were dark red. Since her thoughts were still muddled, it wasn't until she saw a few Martian symbols that she realized where she was. She sat there for a moment to gather her senses, and it wasn't until she decided to get up that someone entered the room. She stopped short, half leaning against the bed she was on. It took her only a moment longer to realize that the person in front of her was Commander X-2.

"Commander Aria." He quickly walked across the room to stand in front of her.

"What is the current situation?" She stood up completely, and felt a wave of dizziness come over her, she closed her eyes and pressed her hand against her forehead. Her eyes jerked back open when she felt a hand lightly grip one elbow and a shoulder.

Commander X-2 was staring down at her calmly, "Are you certain that you are well enough to stand?"

Her checks warmed slightly at the concern in his voice but she shook it off, "I'm fine, what about everything else?" She slowly pulled away from him, not wanting to cause offence by jerking away too quickly.

"We have most of your soldiers on our ship, as well as your prisoners. The centurions have started to gather up the civilians- the bunker your king was in, the passageways collapsed, and its too unstable for an attempt of rescue."

She gave a small nod and walked out of sickbay, and came to a stop once she reached a window. The planet looked black, the smoke still rolling across its surface, "I think it would be best to get as many people as we can off the planet," she turned, giving him a serious look, "a few days ago, we found indications that there were bombs planted in different places under the planets surface, they must have been placed there during their land attack. Unfortunately, soon after that discovery, all of our computing systems began malfunctioning. We have not been able to detect their whereabouts."

He moved closer to her once again, "Yes, we are having the same difficulties...Whatever you did to the enemy ship, it worked, noone survived. That was the last enemy ship, but everything is still malfunctioning. Whatever's causing it must be hidden on the planet as well, the centurions are searching for that. I shall inform them about the bomb threats as well."

"Thank you, Commander X-2." She gave a weak sigh and turned back to the window.

The universe, as if sensing her momentary relief, decided to make its move. The planet below them suddenly began to shake violently, disrupting the smoke, but it was soon replaced by new black clouds. Flashes of light flickered beneath the surface. Without giving it any thought, she prepared herself to go down, she didn't know to get there, but that didn't matter. As she turned on her heals to run off, something gripped her wrist; she looked down, seeing a white, gloved hand.

"You are to remain here, I will go." His stern features soften a bit, "Return back to sickbay, you are more injured than you believe yourself to be." He left her then, giving her no time to object.

As she made her way back to her temporary room, she felt sudden pain and dizziness wash over her. Apparently, Commander X-2 was right about her condition.

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I don't believe many people will be reading this, so if you do, please review if you want me to keep updating. Even a review telling me to update will be appreciated.

Love and hugs to those who review!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you Godzilla GMK and Unknown D Flamerose for reviewing. :D

Ch. 2: A Strange Ship and a Kind Commander

The same light that woke her the first time woke her again, only this time, she felt immensely better. Without any hesitation, she sat up and stretched, and searched for any sign of Martian soldiers, or a centurion. No luck. With one graceful jump, she abandoned the medical table and tapped down onto the floor. She left sickbay and stood, once again, in an empty hallway. Something was different from last time, though, just outside the window laid colors of blue and purple, clustered with infinitely many stars. No planet, no Mercury. She could see Earth, however. She gave herself only a moment to ponder over her location before setting off to find someone, preferably Commander X-2. Only for a few minutes did she walk before she stumbled upon a centurion.

She stopped directly in front of it, "Where is Commander X-2?" She decided to leave all of her other questions for the commander.

"Commander X-2 is on the bridge." While still facing her, it moved a few feet to the side and continued on its way.

No matter how many encounters she had with the centurions, she never got used to them and their mechanical, impersonal responses. She watched it disappear around the corner before proceeding herself. Silently, she walked down corridor after corridor, and soon realized that she should have asked how to get to the bridge. No centurion passed her again. With enough wondering, she was sure she could locate it. She frowned, feeling like a cadet having to find her way around a new ship. Her hopes were high, though, the Mercurian and Martian ships are similar. With each step, her confidence faded. She simply didn't understand, as part as her regular duties, she had to know the layout of friendly, and if possible, enemy ships. With all the chaos on her planet, and the busy weeks before hand, it might be possible that new layouts for a Martian ship never made it to her. Or if it had, it went unnoticed. Which was also very possible.

"Commander Aria."

A centurion was in front of her, when it got there, she didn't know, "Yes?"

"Commander X-2 requires your presence on the bridge."

"Good, I have been searching for him."

The centurion seemed to ignore her statement, "Follow me, Commander."

She frowned, at just how close she had been to the bridge; they had only walked a few minutes before reaching it. When they entered, the commander was sitting in his chair, and rose when he noticed their arrival. His eyes were narrowed, his shoulders squared and tense; he did not look pleased.

"Commander Aria, please accompany me to my ready room."

He walked away without her, but waited at the door for her. As she passed him and entered the room, butterflies erupted in her stomach. The door closed softly behind her and Commander X-2 went deeper into the room, taking his place behind a dark red desk. He motioned her to sit down, his eyes fixated on the computer screen that automatically rose out of the desk when he sat down. Wordlessly, she took her seat, which wasn't very comfortable. It probably wasn't designed to be so. She took his momentary distraction as a chance to take in her surroundings, this room had the same decor as the rest of the ships, a typical Martian style. There were a few personal items, odd little nicknacks and a few paintings. One painting caught her eye, because she had the same in her own ready room. A war-like scene consisting of reds and blacks. The only difference between the two; hers was probably a mound of ashes, cradled in the shattered remains of her ship. As the feeling of depressing remembrance set in, she set her gaze back on the commander, he was still staring intensively at the screen. The butterflies zoomed around in her faster and faster, once again she felt like a cadet, receiving a punishment for incapacitating a commanding officer. Only this was much worse. She had no idea how many Mercurians had died in that attack, and they were all her responsibility. Their blood was on her hands, she felt her heart sink. She wanted to stand tall and fight back, but she had no right, she had failed. She couldn't believe that X-2 still bothered to call her by the tittle 'commander.' Usually, a failure such as this would result in an immediate demotion, or worse. She shivered, knowing that with some failures, it would be better to die in battle, rather than to face the consequences.

"Commander."

She came out of her thoughts to see that he still wore the angry expression, but his voice seemed much softer, almost sad, "Yes...? What has happened, where are we now...?"

He held up his hand to silence her, " Much has happened, and much of it is not good."

She could tell by his demeanor that he was exhausted, that he desired to slump back into his chair. She knew the feeling all too well, any commander does. He sat straight, though, ready to jump into action, like any commander would. She inhaled deeply, regaining her composer and gave him a small nod.

"After I ordered you back to sickbay, the planet continued its rambling. Two of my ships filled with your injured and imprisoned were still on the surface, they did not survive the explosions. While you said that you believed that the enemy had planted them during their land-based attack, I believe there were traitors in your regiment. There were too many bombs for that short of a time frame. We are trying to single out the traitors, but many people are still missing. I honestly don't expect anyone to be found." He paused, giving her a moment to process the new information, " This ship has moved away from Mercury, on the chance that there is something more dangerous on the planet."

"Something more dangerous still there?"

He nodded and turned the computer screen so that it was facing her, "We received a message from those who attacked you. Our attempts to track the message failed, and our intelligence sources have been searching for possible malicious groups that could have lead this attack, but nothing has come up... These words make me believe that the planet is still in peril." He glanced back down at the computer.

She read silently.

"_Commander Aria, I hope you enjoyed the first show, there will be many more to come. For you and the Martians. This is only the beginning. You will both come to regret your hostile actions against the universe and its peaceful live. You will drown in your own power and greed." _

If this had been on actual paper, it would have been balled in her fist, "I can't believe these are the words of the same people who brought Mercury to its knees. It makes them seem as weak as they were the day we kicked them off their planet."

She looked back up at Commander X-2 in time to see him nod in agreement, "It is possible that they are not working alone. We both know that they are a weak race, not even very bright."

"Their actions weren't very bright, their attacks unorganized and ill-done. Still, it would appear that they weren't working alone." She sighed, "Do have any numbers on the casualties?"

He did not hesitate, "Your king did not survive, nor any of the guards that accompanied him in his bunkers. Of the two ships that fell on the planet's surface, a few half-dead soldiers were pulled from the wreckage. Of the soldiers, most did not survive, but many of the civilians did come through. There are no absolute numbers yet, the planet has only been clam for half an hour."

"I see." She couldn't completely hide her crestfallen feelings, "Is there any assistance I can give?"

"Any information on the attack," he paused, realizing what she meant, "we shall make our return to the planet as soon as possible, please, worrying about this will do you no good."

She knew he was right, but she couldn't help herself, "The concern is too large for me to ignore."

He was not fazed, "Of course, but... you should not place the blame for thousands dead on yourself before you know the numbers...that may not seem much better, but you know it is true, as well."

She suddenly turned sheepish, grasping the knowledge that as a fellow commander, X-2 would understand her perspective on the matter, "I apologize, commander, I suppose am still...tired."

He said nothing about the 'tired' remark, even though he knew it was not entirely true, "I will have a centurion show you to your room, and I am sure that you are hungry."

"Yes, thank you." She rose and shook his hand before departing.

xXx Aria's room xXx

She took off her helm and stared at her reflection in the mirror; she looked worse for ware. At least Commander X-2 had been kind enough to not point out her disheveled state. Food was set out on a little round table for her, but she wanted to wash all the blood and dirt away first. The first door she opened lead to a small closet, so she tried the only other door left. It did reveal a bathroom, and a rather small one at that. She looked back to the room, it was large enough to hold a full sized bed, a sitting, and dinning area. Even though it wasn't massive, it was still too big for the modest closet and bathroom. She shrugged, deciding that it was of no importance, and closed the door behind her. As she took off her cloths, she frowned, wondering if she would have to put them back on. Perhaps she could find something else to wear. As the warm water washed over her body, she let out a happy sigh, a shower had never felt so good before. With a bit of scrubbing, all the blood and dirt washed away down the drain. When she stepped out and started drying herself with a thin towel, something caught her eye. On the other side of the room, a dark red robe hung from a hook. She thought it would be as comfortable as her thin towel, but as she picked it up, she discovered that it was fluffy and thick. Quickly, she wrapped it around her body, pulling the sash tight. At least they knew how to make robes. It trailed down to the floor and the sleeves hung over her hands; it was wonderful. She left the bathroom and happily flopped down on the chair in front of her plate of food. It was a bit cold, but that didn't faze her. Despite the fact that she was starving, she took her time, savoring every bite. There was not much of a difference between Martian and Mercurian food; she felt at home.

A knock came from her door, and forgetting her current state, she replied, "Enter."

Commander X-2 stepped into the room, but stopped short, "Um, Commander Aria." He cleared his throat nervously.

She looked up at the commander, his checks had a slight pink tint to them, "Yes?" Then she realized that she was clad in nothing but a robe, even though she was fully covered, it was still a bit awkward, "I'm sorry, commander, my cloths weren't really fit to be worn again..." She pointed apprehensively at the bathroom where her cloths were.

He shifted from one foot to another, "No, its alright...I'll have new cloths brought to you. The reason I am here is to inform you that we can now return to the planet. Its safety is still unclear, but we need to start the process as soon as possible...and as you know, if we are there, then the Galactic Protectorate will not be."

"I defiantly don't want them there anymore than you do."

"So we agree, good. Come back to the bridge once you are prepared."

She watched him leave without saying anything more. All she had to do now was finish her food and wait for her cloths.

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Love and hugs to those who review!


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3: Searching for the Diamond in the Ruff.

Aria put on her last glove, pulling it tight for dramatic affect. These gloves were much shorter than her original ones and were a pearly white; in fact, this outfit was completely different in its color scheme. The appearance of her top and pants were still the same, but the hue was that of a deep royal-blue. She now wore pointed-toe, white boots, which barely went past her ankles. Blue-colored swirls marked her white helmet in an elegant way; and the same swirls were also on her gloves and boots. Overall, she liked the new outfit, and vaguely wondered who had put it together. A blue belt now held her Martian-style death ray gun; thankfully, she knew how to use it.

She stood motionlessly in the center of her temporary room, pondering if she should look out of her window. The fear of seeing her destroyed planet weighed heavily on her heart, so she was tempted to wait until she got to the bridge to see. She just didn't want Commander X-2 to see her have an emotional breakdown. It wouldn't be professional for a commander to show such a sign of weakness. She didn't want the commander to think she was weak. After inhaling deeply, she straightened her figured and decided to wait until she got to the bridge; she would be strong regardless of the sight that might meet her.

With determined eyes, she stepped out of her room and into the hallway. The empty hallway. She let her eyes slip back into their original state; one of sadness and concern. Solemnly, she walked down the dark and silent hall, passing numerous doors as she went; but just from a glance, she knew none of them led to the bridge. Although she was thankful for the absence of life in the passageway, she still found it disconcerting. There was always someone going by her on her ship. Centurions were just too efficient to waste time with an idle walk. She couldn't understand how Commander X-2 could stand to be around such lifeless creatures. They certainty weren't much for conversation.

She shook her head, realizing she had no ground to assume things about the commander. He could very well prefer the silence and solitude. Hopefully, she could become better acquainted with him- on a professional level. Although, there was no need to be unfriendly, she might be working along side him for a while. She would definitely choose the commander's company over a centurion's. A small smile passed over her invisible lips as she approached the door that hid the main bridge.

The door opened before her, revealing the darkly colored bridge, which was full of centurions; and in the center of the room sat Commander X-2. Confidently, she strode into the room with her head held high. The centurions paid her little notice, but once she approached the helm, the commander immediately became aware of her presence. Commander X-2 stood with a firm, but yet somehow sincere, sentiment shining in his eyes.

"Commander Aria, now that you are here, we may begin." He motioned for her to follow as he made his way over to the magnificent window that was positioned at the head of the room.

With cautious steps, she did as instructed and took her place beside the Martian Commander. Do to their proximity with the planet, the surrounding space was barely visible through the thick sheet of glass; most of the picture consisted of the devastated biosphere. All seemed quiet; but that only reminded her of the calm that comes before the storm. She just had to remember that the storm had already come and passed. The domineering spaceship refused to shudder as it entered Mercury's thin atmosphere; she couldn't even feel them being pulled down by the planet's weak gravitational pull. Such factors could be felt, no matter how minor, in her own spaceship. For a moment, she allowed herself to marvel at the ingenuity of the Martian spacecraft. Too bad she never got the blueprints for their newer models. Suddenly, the vessel touched down, with the slightest or rumbles.

"Come commander, we will now commence our search of the surface." Once again, he indicated for her to follow.

Wordlessly, she trailed after the tense commander; yet again, his posture his stern and powerful. She felt a sudden admiration for the stubborn Martian; she could tell that he was still tired. She could conceal such exhausted from her crew as well as he could; but there was no hiding it from a fellow commander. Within a few moments, they had reached the loading and unloading dock of the ship. Silently, she watched huge metal doors slid down; Commander X-2 continued to lead her to those opening doors.

The commander stopped at the base of the door, which caused Aria to stop, "Are you quite ready, commander?"

She looked at him as he spoke, then cast her gaze over the dismal world in front of them, "Yes," she nodded her head, "lets go."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the commander nod to her reply before stepping over the door's threshold. Once again, she silently pursued him, and notice that centurions were following close behind. Ignoring them, she held her breath as she descended the sloping metal platform that went down to the ground. The further she went down, the further her heart sank; the ravaged ground seemed to send out a plea of help to her. It only took a few seconds to reach the ground, but it felt like an unpleasant eternity.

"Since our numbers are short, we shall assist in the search for any survivors."

The commander's odd accent woke Aria up from her nightmarish thoughts; quickly, she blinked away her uneasiness, "Right."

Commander X-2 gave her a weary glance, "Are you certain you are up for this?"

Her commander's personality immediately took over, "Of course." She straightened her posture and forced her eyes to show strength, instead of weakness.

He nodded, though he didn't look convinced, "We shall venture to one of the fall-out shelters." He motioned for her to take the led, "If you could take us to one."

She nodded and started walking through the rummage. With a slight frown, she noticed one centurion was accompanying them. She wished that the Martian military didn't reply so heavily on machines. Perhaps they just didn't those as competent as Commander X-2. Slightly, she blushed; she didn't know if the commander was competent, he could be the son of the previous commander for all she knew. Instantly, she felt ashamed for thinking such a thing. Pensively, she decided to wait until seeing him in action to form an opinion. An opinion of his capabilities, that it; he had certainly been nice and courteous to her, which she was thankful for.

As she came out of her thoughts concerning the commander, she noticed that they had reached one of the many fallout shelters. Warily, she entered the structure, completely forgetting about the presence of Commander X-2 or the centurion. Upon a quick inspection, she noticed something odd; the building appeared as if it had been blown up from the inside. Her eyes narrowed; the Mercurians that had sought shelter here were given little protection. She couldn't dwell on the sight of their mangled bodies for long; she gave them just enough attention to determine if they were dead. Most of them were, but with time, she realized that they all were. Throughout their investigation, no one had spoken, so the commander's voice startled her slightly when he unexpectedly spoke.

"Perhaps we should try elsewhere." He placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

She stifled a gasp at the sudden contact, and gave a thoughtful look to his hand, "I agree, there is no one here." She cleared her throat in an attempt to conceal a soft sob.

If the commander heard the cry of distress, he didn't let on that he did, "Move out."

She could tell by his voice that he wasn't facing her; more than likely, he was addressing the silent centurion. More or less, she ignored her two companions and left the shamble of a building. They continued their search; and as they moved further and further away from the Martian ship, the less they found. That is, the bodies became more and more disheveled. With that, her heart fell more and more. The land was also becoming more disastrous, and it took some delicate footwork to make it around all the ruble. Commander X-2 had no problems keeping up with her pace; nor did the centurion, but that was only because it floated above the ground.

"What is the problem?"

Arian stopped short, thinking that the commander was asking her a question, but it was directing toward the machine. She gave a curious look to the centurion, who just stared blankly at Commander X-2. To see the commander's reaction to the silence, she cast her gaze over to him and saw that he was tapping his foot impatiently. After another moment, he crossed his arm over his chest and glared intensely at the disobedient machine.

Giving a frustrated sigh, he approached the centurion and poked it unceremoniously on its metal chest, "Answer me now."

Aria stepped beside him, "Maybe the nearest control tower has suffered some damage. It looks like he's powered down."

The commander gave a closer look at the robot, "It would appear so," he turned to face her, "do you wish to continue on without it?"

She glanced at the devastated land that laid in front of them, and then back at the centurion before resting her eyes on the commander, "Yes, we can manage without it."

Without saying anything else, both of the commanders continued their trek through the demolished world, hopping to find some kind of life.

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Love, hugs and death ray guns to all who review!


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